Open Talent - by John Winsor & Jin H Paik (Hardcover)

About the Book

"As the pandemic waned, we returned to sparsely populated offices and empty conference rooms. Our working life had been transformed, seemingly overnight. But the truth is that the ever-growing digital wave has long been breaking down organizational boundaries and increasing open innovation, including the use of crowdsourcing platforms as a talent solution. Now the imperative is clear: adapt to and leverage this new, digitally enabled world of "open talent"-or get left behind. In this eye-opening, essential guidebook for the new world of work, John Winsor and Jin Paik, leaders at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, show how the massive reset of the pandemic allowed talented workers everywhere to exit their jobs without leaving the workforce. Now some are freelancing for multiple companies or starting small businesses, leaving hiring managers scratching their heads over a workforce gone AWOL. What's more, talent has more power than ever using platforms such as Freelancer.com, Fiverr, and Upwork, setting their own terms for work: what, where, when, and at what price. How can companies adapt? The key, the authors argue, is shifting to a more "distributed" idea of the organization that revolves around talent (people) and projects, not divisions and offices. In this new model, which the authors call a networked organization, talent is culled from both inside and outside the organization, dispensing with siloed approaches to talent acquisition and instead viewing talent through a single lens: as a global ecosystem that can be tapped as needed. With rich stories, keen insights, and an abundance of practical advice, Winsor and Paik provide a new framework and operating model for transforming your organization into a talent-orchestrating, problem-solving machine"--

Book Synopsis

In the new world of hybrid work and AI, one thing is clear: the war for talent is over--and talent won.

With sparsely populated offices and people working from wherever they are, and with AI emerging everywhere in business and dominating headlines, our work lives have undergone a remarkable transformation, seemingly overnight. But the reality is that for years the ever-growing digital wave has been breaking down organizational boundaries and increasing the adoption of open innovation, including the use of crowdsourcing platforms as a talent solution. Now the imperative is clear: adapt to and leverage this new, digitally enabled world of "open talent"--or get left behind.

In this eye-opening, essential guidebook, John Winsor and Jin Paik, with their work at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, show how the massive reset of the pandemic allowed talented workers everywhere to exit their jobs without leaving the workforce. Now many are freelancing for multiple companies or are starting small businesses, challenging hiring managers as never before amidst a transformed workforce. What's more, talent has more power than ever using platforms such as Freelancer.com, Fiverr, and Upwork, setting their own terms for work: what, where, when, and at what price.

How can companies adapt? The key, the authors argue, is shifting to a more distributed idea and structure of collaborative work. The authors call this a networked organization, where talent is culled from both inside and outside the organization and viewed through a single lens--as a global ecosystem that can be tapped as needed.

With rich stories, keen insights, and an abundance of practical advice, Winsor and Paik provide a new framework and operating model for transforming your organization into a talent-orchestrating, problem-solving machine.

Review Quotes

"Open Talent offers business leaders a flexible framework for solving the staffing challenges of the digital economy at scale. It also presents suggestions for employees and individuals interested in exploring passion projects or new interests. As the world of work evolves and more digital tools and solutions are developed, open talent is a strategy that can increase engagement, improve efficiencies, and foster greater innovation." -- PM World Journal

"Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, Open Talent: Leveraging the Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges is a seminal and ground-breaking work that is an impressively timely and informative contribution to the growing emergence of AI technologies that are compelling corporate workforce adaptation." -- Midwest Book Review

Advance Praise for Open Talent:

"By harnessing global talent, organizations can access diverse perspectives, expertise, and creativity at an unprecedented scale. This book serves as an indispensable resource for leaders navigating this new frontier as AI and other disruptive technologies continue to redefine work." -- From the foreword by Karim R. Lakhani, professor, Harvard Business School; coauthor, Competing in the Age of AI

"When it comes to open talent, Winsor and Paik have lived the concepts, tested the pilots, and ultimately created the model for how organizations succeed. Their research and firsthand experience give you a front-row seat to the lessons learned while also providing you with an actionable framework to bring to your own organization." -- Jason Crusan, former Director, Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Division, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

"Open Talent is a guidebook to the future of work and a must-read for CEOs, entrepreneurs, and managers seeking to navigate this new world." -- Richard Florida, author, The Rise of the Creative Class

"This book is an urgent and timely read that provides the groundbreaking road map for the open talent revolution." -- Tsedal Neeley, professor, Harvard Business School; author, Remote Work Revolution; and coauthor, The Digital Mindset

"The future of work is here, and Open Talent provides a practical and cogent manual for succeeding in it. CEOs and other leaders who ignore the trends and truths Winsor and Paik convincingly lay out do so at their peril." -- Jerry Colonna, CEO, Reboot; author, Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong

"In an age where information travels at the speed of light, Winsor and Paik make clear how businesses today can harness the power of talent from every corner of the world. Open Talent is a road map for any organization looking to thrive in the twenty-first century." -- Jonah Berger, author, Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age

"If you can do your job from Boulder, it can be moved to Bangalore. If you want answers to some of the most-often-asked business questions since the pandemic--on how to work with a remote and globally distributed talent base--you'll find them here." -- Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing, NYU Stern School of Business; bestselling author, The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google

About the Author

John Winsor is the founder and chair of Open Assembly, the world's leading authority on the open talent economy. He is an executive in residence at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard and the author or coauthor of multiple books, including Baked In: Creating Products and Businesses That Market Themselves and Spark: Be More Innovative Through Co-Creation. He shares his new thinking through his popular blog at johnwinsor.com.

Dr. Jin H. Paik is a cofounder and managing partner at Altruistic, an AI consultancy, and a principal visiting research scientist at HBS. Previously he was the Head of Labs at the Digital, Data, and Design Institute at Harvard and the founding general manager at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Harvard, and NYU.